Strand to show final movie on film this weekend

Saturday

Mar 23, 2013 at 6:00 AM

“Film is finally come to an end,” said Strand theater operator Eric Saitz. This weekend will be ‘the’ last weekend for watching a movie on film in Sturgis and by the end of April, quite likely anywhere in the country.

By Laura Kurella

“Film is finally come to an end,” said Strand theater operator Eric Saitz. This weekend will be ‘the’ last weekend for watching a movie on film in Sturgis and by the end of April, quite likely anywhere in the country.This is due to the fact that the film industry plans to phase out film entirely this spring.“It’s a big deal,” said Saitz. “We really have no choice. If we want to keep our doors open at the Strand, we have to make the jump. There will likely be a thousand theaters that will not be around anymore because they simply cannot afford to make the change to digital. I can’t tell you how many ways we looked at coming up with a way to make the shift. If we didn’t find a way, we would have been gone, too.”Saitz, 45, a Bronson native, is the third-generation family member to play a role in the Strand. His grandparents, Otto and Hilda Saitz, took over the theater in 1940 then it passed down to his parents, Jerry and Vennetta Saitz, who remain current owners and Eric acts as manager/operator. “I’ve always been around film. I am so used to the sound the film makes as it runs through the projector, that I am actually recording it so I have it so I can listen to it and remember what it sounded like.”The new digital system is set to arrive this weekend and plans are to be tutored minimally while instruments are installed at a fast enough pace to allow the Strand to re-open its doors on Good Friday on the new digital format.“It will still be shot through a projector and we are proud that we will be able to keep our ticket prices the same as well as offer 3-D movies, which will have a small, additional fee added to the ticket price.”The Strand upgraded the sound system, too.“People are really going to love it,” Saitz said. “That, coupled with the image being so clear, will enhance the whole theater-going experience,” he said. “You could be sad about it, but you have to embrace technology. You have to move ahead. If you don’t, you shouldn’t be in business. I know that ultimately it’s for the better. In the long run, I think it’s going to be a good thing.”